WHAT GM SHOULD HAVE BUILT

Mccord expected to have a hard time finding a ’71-’72 Suburban to use as the base for the project, but within a week of searching through online sources he found a suitable candidate on ebay Motors and the project officially started. The 1972 3-door Chevrolet Suburban ebay find was in pretty good shape in primer with a 4-inch lift and served as the basis for the wild hunting rig. As the 18-month build progressed things changed and evolved with the project morphing from a rugged hunting rig to the show-stopping Safari Suburban you see here.

After test fitting the Duramax engine and Allison transmission in the Suburban the Linco Diesel Performance team went to work separating the body from the chassis before totally reworking each. Knowing the modern diesel drivetrain would fit in the chassis was one thing, making it fit

Lifting the hood reveals the highly detailed engine bay with a LBZ Duramax nestled between the modified frame rails and capped by a custom fabricated shock tower brace. The Linco team fabricated and Tig-welded all the stainless steel charge and intake piping. Notice the classic Chevy orange powder coating that highlights the engine mimicking a traditional small-block Chevy gas engine that is typically seen in restomod trucks like this. To keep the LBZ cool they installed an aluminum radiator from Jegs and paired it with a set of Derale Performance electric cooling fans and fabricated shroud. An intercooler repurposed from a second gen Dodge Cummins was installed in front of the radiator support to keep the intake charge cool.